著者

濱田 琢司

出版者

The Human Geographical Society of Japan

雑誌

人文地理 (ISSN:00187216)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.54, no.5, pp.431-451, 2002-10-28 (Released:2009-04-28)

参考文献数

106

被引用文献数

1

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This paper is an investigation of the development and maintenance of tradition in a small pottery village, Onta Sarayama, in Kyushu, Japan. Onta pottery gained broad recognition when it was "discovered" by non-locals in the early part of the twentieth century, and these "outsiders" have been influential in fixing the image of traditional pottery from Onta since that time. However, potters in Onta have not always given in to external pressures with regard to their work, but rather subjectively select those aspects of tradition which they feel will be beneficial to them in the long-term. As a result, the contemporary pottery tradition of Onta is an amalgamation of influences from both internal and external sources. Using Onta as an example, I describe the processes through which local people subjectively insert images from outsiders into their own traditions and especially focus on how they regard authenticity.In the early 1930s, a member of the Japanese Folk Craft Movement visited Onta for the first time. Since then, the great value of its traditional potters and their works has been widely recognized and Onta has became one of the most famous folk craft pottery villages in Japan. The Onta pottery tradition has four important characteristics: 1. The number of pottery households within the community is fixed. 2. Potters produce clay themselves from raw materials. 3. Pots are made on kick wheels and fired in traditional kilns which use wood for fuel. Electric kilns, wheels, and clay processing mills are not used. 4. Work is done collectively, not by individual artists. Today, Onta is the only pottery village maintaining such a community-wide traditional production system in Japan.However, during the Mingei boom of 1960-70s, Onta experienced a period of transition. The popularity of the village and the demand for the pottery made there became very high. At that time, potters in Onta considered introducing electric machines, and some sought their own way as individual artists. However, in the end, they decided to continue with the traditional method outlined by the Folk Craft Movement above. At that time, in many Japanese potteries, the production system was changing and machines were introduced. I consider why only Onta maintained the traditional method.In the paper, I argue that the potters of Onta recognized the value of the external folkcraft ideals and employed them positively for their own purposes. This is one example of how local people act in such a situation, specifically the interaction between potters and members of the folk craft movement.In summary, this interaction helped potters recognize the images which outsiders have of them and their work and influenced them in shaping the direction their work has taken. Clearly, the tradition of Onta pottery has been produced and maintained through the interaction between outsiders and the local people.